Ms. Matthews said she was driving Tuesday afternoon on U.S. 13 South when she spotted a person she thought she knew walking along the roadway.

She stopped to offer a ride, but found the man was not someone she knew, authorities said.

Ms. Matthews reportedly offered him a ride anyway, and it later "got out of hand," Effler said she told authorities.

Ms. Matthews said she was assaulted when they entered the Jordans Chapel area, and was forced to drive around Halifax County until her car ran out of gas.

The alleged victim said she was then assaulted again and robbed of jewelry, a purse and a cell phone, authorities said.

A short time later, Halifax County authorities received an emergency call about a stranded motorist, Halifax Sheriff's Office Lt. Bobby Martin said. The call at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday put the motorist near Exit 158 on I-95 in Halifax County.

When troopers arrived, they discovered Ms. Matthews, 32, who said she had been kidnapped from an area in Wayne County, Martin said. Ms. Matthews was sitting in the driver's seat of her pickup truck when she was found.

The suspect was described as a white male in his 40s, about 5 feet 7 inches tall, 220 pounds with a missing front tooth in the upper left of his mouth, with thinning and graying blonde hair, a thin mustache and a beard.

He was reportedly last seen wearing a green pullover shirt and khaki cargo shorts, according to a news release.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Detective Sgt. Tammy Odom or Detective Larry Mitchell at 731-1481, or the Crime Stoppers hotline at 735-2255.